How to Pay Medical Bills While Waiting for a Claim to be Resolved

If you or your loved one has incurred injuries from an accident caused by someone’s negligent actions, you may be entitled to get compensation for your damages. The recompense can be in the form of a settlement or damages received from a personal injury claim. Florida is a pure comparative negligence state, which means that damages are awarded in regard to a party’s degree of fault in an accident.

Unfortunately, personal injury claims are not always straightforward. Depending on whether you are in the process of getting a settlement or resolving a personal injury claim, the process could last up to a year or more. However, injuries sustained cannot wait, and you must seek immediate medical assistance. How can you pay your medical bills while waiting for a claim to be resolved? The experienced lawyers at Baker Legal Team can help you with any questions you may have during the process. We will also fight for you to get the compensation you deserve. 

How Can I Pay My Medical Bills While My Claim is Still Pending?

Fortunately, you can still pay your medical bills while your personal injury claim is pending. Some ways you can do this in Florida include the following:

Using Your Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Insurance

Every motorist in Florida is required to have at least basic PIP insurance. It allows auto accident victims to have 80% of their medical bills paid, or up to $10,000 per person per accident. Before seeking other methods, you should first ensure you have exhausted your PIP coverage.

To access your full PIP benefits, you need to seek medical assistance within 14 days of the accident. In case of an emergency medical condition that could lead to partial or complete organ failure or serious damage to the patient’s health or bodily function, your medical provider will use specific language in your medical records so that you can be eligible for full PIP benefits.

Using Health Insurance

Your health insurance provider can help you cover medical expenses due to injuries from an accident. Your health insurance will be billed secondary to your PIP insurance if you simply present your auto and health insurance to your doctor and ask them to bill both. It is important to note that your health insurance can file a lien against your settlement. This is to ensure they get reimbursed for any costs they cover due to the accident. In a nutshell, your lawyer will be required to deduct the money your health insurance company paid for bills from your compensation and pay them back.

You may be wondering, why bother billing your health insurance if you have to pay them back? However, there are still advantages to utilizing this route. Health insurance companies never pay the full price of the medical services you receive. Instead, they only pay the contractual amount they have with your medical provider. In turn, you will reimburse the amount your health insurance paid, which is usually lower than what you would have been charged. In addition, your lawyer will negotiate a reduction in the amount you owe your health insurance to maximize the amount of money you receive from the settlement.

Using Car Insurance

Depending on your auto insurance policy, you may be able to cover medical costs after an accident using your vehicle’s medical coverage. Your vehicle’s medical policy may fall under the following:

• Underinsured motorist coverage
• Uninsured motorist coverage
• Medical payments coverage

Just like your health insurance, the medical payments coverage may request reimbursement once you receive compensation.

By Signing a Letter of Promise

You can speak to your hospital, medical provider, or any other entity sending you these bills to arrange deferred payment. The health care provider will offer upfront services without payment in return for receiving full payment once you receive compensation. However, this agreement is a signed official agreement between you and your medical provider. 

If you skip out on paying the care provider once you have signed the documents, they will seek collections based on the broken agreement. Having your lawyer review these forms before signing is important to ensure you do not agree to terms and conditions that you shouldn’t.

Speak With an Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer at Baker Legal Team Today

Whether your settlement negotiations or injury claim takes six months or more than a year, you do not have to worry about losing your home, taking out loans, or filing for bankruptcy over medical expenses. Speak with the personal injury lawyers at Baker Legal Team today to get professional advice on how to pay for your medical care. We can even speak with your healthcare provider to get you the care you need without leaving you in a dire financial situation.

It’s best to seek the help of an experienced and board-certified personal injury attorney as soon as possible to facilitate a faster legal process, while evidence and eyewitness memory are still fresh. Call us today at 561-320-0000 or fill out our form online for a free case consultation.